On April 29, 2026, the Public Defender of Georgia filed an amicus curiae brief with the Tbilisi Court of Appeal regarding cases where participants of assemblies were found to be administrative offenders for deliberately creating obstacles to the movement of people.

According to the information recently spread by various open sources and applications received by the Public Defender's Office, common courts are hearing a large number of cases on the above grounds.

The provision prohibiting assembly participants from artificially blocking pedestrian walkways is a new addition to national legislation. The Public Defender responded to this legislative reservation with a public statement in December last year and called on the Ministry of Internal Affairs not to restrict the rights of participants in peaceful assemblies when the discomfort created for pedestrians, considering alternative routes of movement, the number of participants in the assembly or its duration, did not reach a sufficiently serious level. The Public Defender criticized the new regulation in the 2025 parliamentary report as well.[1]

Since the relevant case law for identifying assembly participants as offenders for creating obstacles to pedestrian movement on sidewalks is currently being shaped by the decisions of the common courts, the Public Defender provided the Tbilisi Court of Appeal with information about the relevant human rights standards to assist in a proper resolution of the issue. Among other things, the document emphasizes that any assembly, by its very nature, may cause some disruption to the normal rhythm of life, although the authorities should allow such disruption, except in cases where it would disproportionately harm the competing interest. In addition, considering the approaches of international human rights institutions and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, the amicus curiae opinion summarizes individual circumstances that, in the opinion of the Public Defender, are important for common courts to consider when hearing such cases.

[1] 2025 Parliamentary Report of the Public Defender of Georgia, pp. 183-184, available on the website: < bit.ly/4t6mDmS > [30.04.2026].